Rio Ferdinand out of World Cup
One day after his arrival in South Africa, England skipper Rio Ferdinand must prepare to fly home after he was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury.
Ferdinand suffered the injury in training on Friday morning and was sent straight to the local Netcare Fearncrest Hospital for a scan.
Both doctors travelling with the England team assessed the severity of the problem and came to the same conclusion; the Manchester United man would play no part in the competition.
"Further to a scan arranged by the England medical staff immediately after training on Friday afternoon, Rio has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks and will therefore unfortunately miss the World Cup," said a statement.
"Tottenham Hotspur's Michael Dawson has been contacted and will fly to South Africa.
"Steven Gerrard will lead the England team as captain in the tournament."
It is a grievous blow for coach Fabio Capello, who rated Ferdinand as one of the most influential players in his squad as well as a lynchpin in his defence.
He must now decide who to replace Ferdinand with, having added Dawson to a list of central defenders that also includes Ledley King, Matthew Upson and Jamie Carragher.
"It is obviously bad news and everyone with the squad is very disappointed and sorry for Rio," said Capello.
"It was an accidental injury in training, but had nothing to do with the pitch."
Manchester United will decide whether the injury was in any way related to the long-standing back problems that condemned Ferdinand to spend so much of this season on the sidelines.
Latterly, he missed a couple of games with a groin problem picked up during a match at Blackburn, although he has spent the past two weeks insisting he was over all his fitness issues.
Ferdinand had also opted not to speak too extensively about having the chance to emulate another former West Ham player, Bobby Moore, by lifting the World Cup.
"I have always said I would not let myself get too emotionally involved with situations and scenarios for fear that it might not happen or I might not achieve the goals I set out to achieve," he said during England's recent altitude training camp in Austria.
"I am not letting myself think what it would be like to be captain at the World Cup or lift the trophy. Maybe it is just superstition."
Those worries, though, have now come true, which must have an adverse effect on England's chances of landing the biggest prize in the game in Johannesburg on July 11.
Upson has started nine of the last 17 internationals while King has forced his way into Capello's thinking despite his long-term knee problem.
King has impressed for Tottenham this season and did train this morning. By his own admission he looked far from convincing in the recent friendly with Mexico at Wembley, but he would be the current favourite to partner John Terry in the Group C opener against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12.
Capello has pencilled Carragher in as the back-up right-back to Anfield team-mate Glen Johnson, while Dawson was named in Capello's initial party of 30 for the finals but was excluded from the final 23 after not playing against either Mexico at Wembley or Japan in Graz.
He has had an outstanding season at Tottenham, often alongside King, although he is yet to make his bow at international level and - while he was talking in relation to Adam Johnson - Capello has already spoken of the difficulty uncapped players have in stepping up to international level at such an important time.
Having to wrestle with such problems was surely not what was going through Capello's mind a few hours earlier when he spoke to David Cameron and accepted the Prime Minister's best wishes.
Rio Ferdinand Factfile
1978: Born November 8, Peckham. Cousin of England international Les Ferdinand.
1995: Turns professional with West Ham after coming through the youth ranks with the London club.
1996: May - Makes Hammers debut as a second-half substitute in 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
November - Loaned out to Bournemouth.
1997: February - Scores his first goal for the Hammers in a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn.
November - Becomes youngest defender to play for England when he makes his debut against Cameroon at Wembley.
1998: Named in Glenn Hoddle's England squad for the World Cup finals but does not play in France.
2000: Left out of the England squad for Euro 2000 by Kevin Keegan. Smashes British transfer record with £18million move to Leeds United in November.
2002: Scores first England goal in 3-0 win over Denmark in in World Cup second round.
July 21 - Leeds agree £30million fee with Manchester United for Ferdinand, making him the world's most expensive defender.
2003: May - Picks up a Premier League winner's medal as United finish five points clear of Arsenal.
October 6 - Reported to the Football Association for failing to attend a drugs test.
October 7 - Left out of England squad for crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey because of drugs controversy.
October 29 - Charged with misconduct by the FA for "the failure or refusal by a player to submit to drug testing as required by a competent official".
December 18 - Independent three-man panel find the case against Ferdinand proven and impose an eight-month ban and £50,000 fine.
2004: January 20 - Ferdinand begins his ban.
September 20 - Returns in 2-1 Premier League win over Liverpool at Old Trafford.
2005: May 21 - Season ends in disappointment with FA Cup final penalty shootout defeat to Arsenal, leaving United without a trophy.
July 3 - United chief executive David Gill defends Ferdinand against allegations of disloyalty for his failure to sign new £100,000-a-week extension to his contract.
August 8 - After being booed by United supporters in pre-season games in Japan, Antwerp, Clyde and Peterborough, Ferdinand agrees new four-year deal.
December 14 - Scores his first United goal in 4-0 victory over Wigan.
2006: February 26 - Wins League Cup as United beat Wigan 4-0 at the Millennium Stadium.
June - Represents England at World Cup in Germany.
2007: May 6 - United win Premier League title. But later in the month, they lose 1-0 to Chelsea in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley.
November 21 - Absent through injury as England lose 3-2 to Croatia at Wembley and fail to qualify for Euro 2008.
2008: March 26 - Captains England for the first time and wins his 65th cap in 1-0 defeat in France.
April 18 - Agrees new five-year contract with Manchester United believed to be in the region of £130,000 a week.
May 11 - United wrap up back-to-back Premier League titles.
May 15 - United confirm Ferdinand has signed his new deal, which will keep him at the club until 2013.
May 21 - Ferdinand captains United to a dramatic Champions League final victory over Chelsea as the Red Devils prevail in a penalty shoot-out in Moscow.
August 19 - Ferdinand loses out to John Terry in the duel to become England captain as Fabio Capello electsto retain the Chelsea defender as his on-field leader. Ferdinand is named as vice-captain by the Italian.
October 11 - Ferdinand is named captain of England in the absence of the injured Terry and responds by hitting the opening goal in a 5-1 win over Kazakhstan in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
2009: May 16 - Ferdinand and his United team-mates wrap up a third successive Premier League title.
May 27 - Ferdinand is part of the United team which suffers a 2-0 defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League final.
2010: February 5 - Ferdinand, as vice-captain, takes over from Terry as England skipper after the Chelsea defender is stripped of the post by Capello following allegations about Terry's private life.
March 1 - United win Carling Cup with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa but Ferdinand misses out with a back injury.
June 1 - Named in England's final 23-man World Cup squad.
June 4 - Ruled out of the tournament, and replaced by Michael Dawson, after injuring ligaments in his left knee in training.
